Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's revelation that he has been diagnosed with leukemia brought to mind the shocking 1991 announcement by Magic Johnson that he was HIV positive. . . . Jim Murray , noting that "HIV may have picked on the wrong guy," wrote that Johnson had a chance to enlighten the world. . . . Speculated the columnist, "Magic may be winning something far more important than a Final Four, an NBA championship, a player of the year. Magic may be winning for a whole generation.

The Lakers have had some of the best centers the NBA has even seen. It started in Minneapolis with George Mikan and continued on in Los Angeles with Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O'Neal. Three of them are in the NBA Hall of Fame and the fourth, O'Neal, will be selected when his career is over. As we mark the Lakers being in Los Angeles for 50 seasons, the team's best all-time center has to go to Abdul-Jabbar. That's no offense to the others. It's just that Abdul-Jabbar stood out more during his tenure in Los Angeles.

As if a leukemia diagnosis wasn't enough, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had another internal battle on his hands. Whom should he tell? The intensely private Abdul-Jabbar found out last December that he had a rare form of leukemia, though he shared it with only the smallest of circles. He waited five months before telling Lakers Coach Phil Jackson that he had Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, Jackson said Tuesday. The disease is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that produces cancerous blood cells.

NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a rare form of leukemia, but the Lakers legend says his long-term prognosis is very good. Abdul-Jabbar, 62, revealed during an interview Monday that he has Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia, a cancer of the blood and bone marrow that produces cancerous blood cells. The disease was diagnosed in December. But Abdul-Jabbar said his condition can be managed by taking oral medication daily, seeing his specialist every other month and getting his blood analyzed regularly.

The routine is well-established. The media mob, armed with cameras, tripods, tape recorders and, yes, even some old-fashioned notepads, gathers in a small room leading to the Lakers' practice court at the team's El Segundo training facility. Like bulls in a pen waiting to charge, they are poised for the moment when John Black, the team's public relations director, swings open the door and turns them loose.

In 1968 I was a 20-year-old college junior whose basketball success had made me famous. I'd been honored as most outstanding player in the NCAA tournament, named the U.S. Basketball Writers Assn. player of the year, and played the "game of the century" against the Houston Cougars at the Astrodome. So it wasn't surprising that I was invited to try out for the Olympic basketball team to represent the U.S. in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

Our image of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, although a good one, is outdated. We still have him frozen in mid-skyhook, his No. 33 as memorable as the grace of his shooting motion. The current image should be of a still-shy man, now 60 years old, hunched over a computer keyboard, pulling words from a mind that has long played second fiddle to a 7-foot-2 body and a pro basketball career that will never be replicated. The leading scorer in the history of the National Basketball Assn.

HAD his ambition to become a professional basketball player not panned out, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar says, he would have been a history teacher instead. His passion for African American history in particular inspired his latest book, "On the Shoulders of Giants," borrowing from the Isaac Newton quote crediting those who inspired him.

One thing about the Red Hot Chili Peppers' hometown concerts -- wherever they may be, there's usually a story. At a 2005 benefit performance at the Greek Theatre, the band's bassist Flea took a moment to reminisce about sneaking into shows and graduating from high school at the outdoor venue. And on Thursday at the Forum, he recalled his mother bringing him to see then Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar play basketball at the Inglewood arena.

A Buena Park man jailed for two years because of his alleged ties to terrorism was ordered freed Thursday by a federal judge in Los Angeles who rejected the government's argument that he was a national security threat. The order came two years to the day after Abdel Jabbar Hamdan was arrested and incarcerated in the immigration detention facility at Terminal Island. The Palestinian father of six U.S.